Russia sends task force to flood-hit far-east, evacuates 2000

Russia evacuated more than 2000 people from areas affected by floods in the Far East of the country, said emergency officials on Sunday. The areas have seen floods after Tropical storm Khanun caused heavy rains.

"More than 2,000 people, including 405 children, have been evacuated in Primorye," the Russian emergency situations ministry said on Telegram.

The ministry has said that almost 5000 buildings have been flooded in the Primorye region. The region borders China and North Korea. It added that rescuers had set up 13 temporary accommodation centres in the region. Ministry said that 28 settlement remained cut off.

The city of Ussuriysk has seen flooding that worst in a decade, said state-run TASS news agency. Most of the affected homes are in the cities of Ussuriysk and Spassk-Dalny as well as in the Oktyabrsky municipal district along with Primorye, where Russia's far-east port of Vladivostok is the administrative centre.

Russia has sent a task force to the area. The ministry said in its Telegram channel that a task force would "coordinate the work to eliminate the consequences of the flood." It said its aircraft delivered humanitarian aid and Mi-8 helicopters helped transfer rescuers to the site.

The ministry conveyed that there were no reports of casualties.

TASS said the flood in Ussuriysk, the second largest city in Primorye, was the worst and biggest in a decade and that it had affected between 35 and 40 percent of its territory.

Earlier this week, Khanun battered Japan. It then took a circuitous route and headed towards the Korean peninsula.

The storm also forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of scouts from their jamboree campsite in South Korea.

(With inputs from agencies)

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